Daily News Journal, Tom Kreager, September 22, 2015
MURFREESBORO — Raymond Howse, who broke the color barrier for the old Murfreesboro Central High School football team, died Sunday.
Raymond Howse
Howse, 64, was an offensive and defensive lineman at Central High, where he joined the varsity team as a sophomore in 1966. He was the first African-American to play on the Central High varsity football team.
“Good player. Good man,” former Central High coach Gene Windham wrote on a Facebook message. The late Lee Pate was head coach when Howse joined the varsity.
Howse went on to be a fireman for the city, before later working for the Community Development Office.
Howse died after a bout with cancer, his wife of 31 years, Jolaine Howse said. The couple did not have children.
Visitation with the family will be from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at New Generation Funeral Home, 2930 Murfreesboro Pike, Antioch, and from 4 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at Olive Branch Church, 1115 Minerva Drive,, Murfreesboro. A celebration of life will be at 5 p.m., Sunday.
Jolaine Howse said her husband often spoke about his time at Central High as a football player.
“He developed a lot of friendships with other blacks that came on, and were playing on the team,” she said. “He used to talk about how his teammates protected him when he went to other towns, especially when they went into restaurants that wouldn’t serve blacks.
“He said he never felt afraid because of the protection he was provided.”
Councilman Bill Shacklett attended at Central High with Raymond Howse, but got to know him more later on after school
“He was just an extremely fine person and a dedicated family man,” said Shacklett, who played in the band at Central. “That’s a credit to his family and the community. He’s a big man and has a big heart.”
Shacklett said integrating the football team at Central High was a positive for the community during the civil rights era.
“Those years were tumultuous in our city and our country,” Shacklett said. “… We found ways to work together rather than work apart. We were looking for ways to get along and do something positive.
“And we had great friendships made.”
Bart Fite of the Murfreesboro Parks & Recreation Department was the quarterback at Central High when Howse played. Fite called Howse “a very hard-nosed football player.”
1968 Murfreesboro Central High School Tigers
“He was a good guy, who put out 100 percent every time he played,” Fite recalled.
“He did a good job for us,” Fite recalled. “I counted on him to get his blocks.”
Former teammate Coleman Murdock, a Rutherford County school resource officer, was saddened to hear of his friend’s passing. He remembered Howse as a quiet player.
“I remember when we were freshmen at Central,” Murdock said. “There were 150 players that came out for football. I never had as hard of a year as that year. You had to be mentally fit.
“It was not about being black or white. You had to just survive. Only 35 of us lasted.”
Reach Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Kreager.